Dottie DeLuca closes Fleur De Lis Antiques and Designs in West Redding. She is pictured at her store in Redding, Connecticut, on Thursday, August 22, 2024.
H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media
REDDING — For the past 14 years, Dottie DeLuca has used her eye for beauty to source modern and vintage decor for designers and decorators as well as local buyers for her business, Fleur De Lis Antiques and Designs.
“I’m a Libra – I like beautiful things,” said the Redding resident, who started buying and selling vintage items when she was 20. “I was just drawn to it. I had my sources that I bought for and I had personal connections, so at 20 I was like a designer who didn’t know what gift she had. And all the luxury decorators wanted what I had.”
In the store’s warehouse, shoppers will find a collection of vintage furniture, original paintings, Hollywood Regency and Mid-Century Modern decor, vintage fabrics and textiles, sculptures, busts, jewelry and other treasures – all curated by DeLuca.
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Before running the store, DeLuca built a dance career as a Radio City Music Hall Rockette and appeared in several Broadway productions. She also manages five marketplace sites, including Etsy and First Dibs, where she Also sells her curated goods.
DeLuca is now preparing for the next chapter of her life by retiring from Fleur De Lis. Both the business and the property at 4 Long Ridge Road in West Redding near the train station have been offered for sale, with the business listed on the BizBuySell website and the property listed on the Loopnet website.
The business, priced at $375,000, is described on BizBuysell as a “vintage furniture and home decor” company that is “known for its high-quality, unique and select pieces.”
The property has since been listed for sale on Loopnet for $1,499,000, where it is described as a “perfect candidate” for transit-oriented development and “CT 8-30g affordable housing” or for a restaurant, retail space or bed and breakfast.
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The store’s last day will depend on how quickly the property and business are sold, DeLuca said, adding that she is currently “in the process of retiring.”
As she prepares to say goodbye to the business, DeLuca said she will likely continue her work with a “stronger online presence” and offer more online interior design consulting services.
“All I know is that I’m going to take some time off before I start the next chapter,” she said.
“Many layers”
DeLuca said she bought vintage items and sold them to Stamford decorators and designers before deciding to study dance in college. She said she continued to sell select pieces on the side and it was “a natural progression to open my own shop.”
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DeLuca, who bought the property at 4 Long Ridge Road with her husband, Anthony DeLuca, opened Fleur De Lis Antiques and Décor on Black Friday in November 2010.
During those 14 years, Dottie DeLuca has worn “all hats” at the company, from buying and selling to being an online marketer and developing a brand.
“It has many facets,” she said. “It’s fulfilling and exhausting.”
Initially, the store featured more antiques “because they were in demand,” DeLuca said, but she has since added more midcentury modern items to her store. She said she has many contacts with local real estate agents and residents and sources “a lot of what designers are looking for,” including “American-made, high-quality furniture from the ’60s and ’70s.”
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DeLuca has also provided interior design and staging services, as well as prop and set design, for several film and television productions, including HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” and the CW Network’s “Gossip Girl,” as well as the film “Ant Man” and the new Vietnam War-era film “Summerhouse,” which filmed in the Danbury area this summer.
Fleur De Lis has also been sold to designers such as Christian Siriano, Barneys NYC, Soho House NYC, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and Tommy and Susie Hilfiger, as well as celebrities such as writer Stephen King, actress Evangeline Lilly, comedian John Mulaney and artist Anna Marie Tendler, according to its website.
In Redding, DeLuca said she has supported community events such as the art show and Pudd’nhead Festival at the Mark Twain Library while bringing more retail to the city.
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“People call me at the last minute in a panic and say, ‘Hey, I need a gift,'” she said. “Some parents have their kids come here to buy gifts because they want to support the community and teach their kids to support the community.”
As for the next step, DeLuca said she and her husband are ready to travel and have “more fun and games,” and she is “excited about the unknown.”
